


Hope & Dispair With a Side of Betrayal

by KahtyaSofia



Series: Captain's Blog - S2 [18]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: Adrift, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-22
Updated: 2009-11-21
Packaged: 2017-10-03 13:18:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KahtyaSofia/pseuds/KahtyaSofia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack and Ianto navigate and negotiate their way through the events seen in 'Adrift'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is set between 'Countrycide' and 'Greeks'. The other three chapters are set in real time with 'Adrift'. I don't consider anything in this fic to be Gwen bashing because it only reflects her actions onscreen. If you think she wasn't being a PITA onscreen, you might not want to read.

_**"I**_anto," Jack called softly, his voice echoing off the walls of the Hub, "I need your help with something." He'd wanted to enlist Ianto's help earlier, but Lisa's presence had been discovered before he'd had the chance. Much of Jack's and Ianto's relationship, both personal and professional, had derailed at that point. They'd been making progress but it was still so recent and Ianto was still so raw. Jack hoped that this show of faith on his part would further make up for so much lost ground.

Ianto looked up from Tosh's computer to where Jack stood in the door of his office, "What do you need?"

Jack sighed and moved closer, bringing a chair with him, "I need you to come with me somewhere tomorrow; no one else can know about this." Ianto looked so eager to please that Jack allowed himself a moment to reconsider before forging ahead.

"What's this about, Jack?" Ianto asked, seeming less sure of what was being asked of him.

Jack drew a deep breath and silently mourned the fact that he was going to have to further dent what was left of Ianto's innocence. "I need you to see something for yourself so that you're able to understand how it is I need you to help me."

"You're being terribly mysterious and it's making me nervous," Ianto said, with trepidation. Jack was trying not to contribute to Ianto's apprehension, but no matter what, this was a difficult thing for anyone to deal with.

"I'm trying to tell you what it is we're going to see, but it's difficult to do and nothing can actually prepare you for the reality." Jack held both hands out in entreaty.

"Just tell me, already!" Ianto sounded both impatient and agitated, and that really wasn't what Jack wanted.

"The Rift doesn't only spit things out at us; it also takes things away." Jack paused while Ianto absorbed that bit of information. "It sometimes takes people right out of their homes or from off of the street."

Ianto's expression was one of stunned disbelief, "How long have you known about this, Jack?"

"I've always known this," he explained, glossing quickly over the fact that he'd known it for about one hundred years, "but what I didn't know until I took over Torchwood Three is that the Rift sometimes returns those it's taken, and they don't come back intact."

"I don't understand…" Jack knew Ianto was catching on, even if he didn't completely understand just yet.

"They come back damaged; physically, emotionally, mentally. Sometimes all three at once." Jack buried the unbidden memories of painfully twisted minds and bodies.

"Oh God…"

Ianto's eyes widened with realization and he paled slightly.

"Yeah," Jack concurred without Ianto having to finish his thought. "When Alex died I discovered that he'd secreted two victims away in the Vaults; locked away and neglected. I knew I had to make permanent arrangements for them; they couldn't be kept down there indefinitely."

"Of course not." Ianto said with some heat.

"The trouble is, in recent months, the number of returns has spiked."

"Do you know why?"

"No," Jack wished he did so that he could either make better preparations or put a stop to it, "but as a result, I've had to expand the facilities and the staff and the budget…" he trailed off, once again feeling overwhelmed.

"Staff and budget for what?"

"The facility I set up to care for the returnees. I'm having trouble managing it alone and if anything should happen, I can't be the only one who knows about the place." Jack implied that it would be injury or death that would keep him from his duty; not the fact that the Doctor would be taking him away from here soon.

Ianto nodded, and Jack knew Ianto had inferred what he'd intended. "So, I get the grand tour tomorrow."

"Yes," Jack paused, regretting the truth of his next words, "and I need to prepare you. It's not pretty, Ianto. It's downright horrifying, in some cases." Sadly, Jack was aware that Ianto had seen horror. Too much horror, by his way of thinking. Yet, it was one of the things that made him perfectly suited to help Jack.

"Why the secrecy?" Ianto asked, "Why shouldn't all Torchwood staff know about this?"

Jack sighed, having given this a great deal of thought, "Tosh wouldn't know how to help; her expertise isn't with the more human aspect of our work. Owen would get too caught up in trying to help and end up getting distracted from his work here. I can't afford for that to happen. Gwen wouldn't understand. She'd want to try to heal them all and reunite the families, and that just can't be done." Jack thought he had done a good job of implying that Ianto's strengths and skills were just what he needed.

"Whereas I've learned unequivocally that some damage done can't be repaired," Ianto was suddenly speaking with venom, "and is better dealt with clinically."  
Jack felt himself jerk as if he'd been slapped. He actually hadn't had thoughts along those lines, at all. It was Ianto's quiet compassion, tempered with his extreme efficiency and practicality that had Jack turning to him. He was wholly taken aback that Ianto could think Jack thought so poorly of him.

"Right," Jack said, acknowledging his miscalculation immediately, "never mind, I can see that it was a mistake to ask this of you." He rose from his chair and began to push it back to its appropriate desk. "Just don't mention this conversation to any of the others, please." He fled to his office, hoping to dodge the memories of a devastated  
Ianto facing down his own violent rage.

Ianto was close on Jack's heels, much to his surprise. "I didn't say I wouldn't help, Jack."

"Forget it," Jack said waving a hand dismissively, "it hadn't occurred to me that you and I weren't already past all this." He shuffled distractedly through papers on his desk, not really seeing.

"You obviously need help or you wouldn't have brought it up," Ianto said, and Jack looked up to see him standing, hands on his hips, "and since I'm coldly unemotional …"

"That is not what I said and it's not what I meant, either," Jack snapped, rising back to his feet, "You're deeply compassionate, but you've learned how not to be ruled by  
your emotions and I need…needed…that strength." He stood across from Ianto with his hands on his own hips. They stared hard at one another, mirror images of hurt, anger and need.

"What time did you want to leave?" Ianto asked quietly, after some time.

"Meet me here at sunrise," Jack replied, grudgingly, unsure how they had gone from spitting venom over misunderstood intentions to…this.

Ianto gave him a curt nod and turned on his heel to leave for the night.

II

_**J**_ack jumped from the bow of the small boat and turned to see if Ianto needed any assistance disembarking. He did not. Lithe and sure, Ianto landed on the wooden dock and immediately began to take in their surrounds.

"This is Flat Holm Island," Ianto stated, not needing confirmation.

"Yes," Jack confirmed anyway, for lack of anything better to say.

"But what's on Flat Holm Island?" Ianto was confused.

"That's what I need to show you," Jack said, as he turned to glance up the rise before them.

The day was cold and overcast, as usual. The island where they stood was small, barren and covered in scrub brush. A lighthouse stood at the highest point, having fallen into disrepair with lack of use. A well-worn path wound up the hill and through the scrub before them. Jack sighed heavily, pushing aside his dread of the coming visit, and set out along the path as Ianto followed behind without a word.

They reached what looked like, and, for all intents and purposes, was, a military bunker dug out from the hillside. Jack turned to see that Ianto was still following closely before he stepped into the deep entrance of one of the outbuildings and moving carefully down the dark stairs. Stopping before a door in the far wall, he punched a sequence into his wrist strap and heard the familiar 'snick' of the door mechanism disengaging. Jack turned and handed Ianto a device that resembled a key fob for a garage door. It would emit the same signal to release the door's lock when Ianto came here without him.

"Helen says it's easier for them if I phone ahead to let them know that I'm coming, especially if I'm bringing a visitor, which is rare." Ianto nodded, "They're expecting you today."

The door swung inward to reveal a heavyset black woman dressed in surgical scrubs, her head covered in a colorful kerchief. Her expression, as always, was warm and welcoming. Jack stepped forward to hug his angel of mercy, always grateful that her compassion seemed to know no bounds.

"Helen," Jack started, one hand on her shoulder and the other extended toward a hesitant Ianto, "I'd like you to meet Ianto Jones."

Helen took Ianto's outstretched hand in both of her warm ones and clasped it tightly, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Jones," she said formally.

Ianto's expression flickered almost imperceptibly. Helen's greeting confused him; he had no way of knowing how often and how highly Jack had spoken of him to her. He'd been studying all the nuances of Ianto Jones for months, so unlike the casual observer, Jack was aware of what Ianto was feeling. "Ianto, this is Helen," Jack said, drawing Ianto further through the door so that it could shut behind him, "she's my right hand in this place. I couldn't do it without her."

Helen smacked Jack lightly on the arm with the back of one hand as she turned to lead the way down the corridor, "Flirting isn't necessary, Captain." It was obvious the praise pleased her and Jack had no compunction against heaping it on her. It was the truth and he knew it.

Jack started after Helen and took Ianto's arm. It would seem to the casual observer that Jack was looking after a young employee during a visit to an extraordinarily distressing place. The truth was that the place was starting to press in on Jack. The sights, the sounds, the smells all combined to make his heart race and his mouth go dry. Ianto beside him, shoulder brushing against his own, served to calm Jack. It all seemed a little more tolerable.

The corridors were cool and dank, in spite of the comfortably warm ambient temperature. A pall hung in the air that couldn't be explained by anything visible, so far. It was palpable, though. Jack always felt it and he could tell from the stiffness of Ianto's shoulders and the tightness of his expression that he was feeling it, too. Jack tried to see the place as Ianto was seeing it: for the first time. Concrete walls covered in chipped and peeling paint of once-hideous colors. Curved corridors that seemed to go on forever; lack of décor and warmth evident at every turn. The sound of metal clanking against metal was coming from all around them, echoing off the walls and down the hallways. In the distance, they could hear the faint sound of agonized screams and woeful weeping. It never ceased to send a shiver down Jack's spine; make him want to turn and leave, and simply pretend this place didn't exist. Jack ran a hand up Ianto's arm, comforting them both.

"You picked a good day, Captain," Helen turned to say as she continued to led the way through the halls, "it's quiet. Everyone seems calm and not quite so easily agitated." She favored Ianto with a small smile and Jack saw her eyes quickly take in their proximity to one another. Helen had been after him to bring Ianto, if for no other reason than his presence would make the visit easier for Jack.

"For their sakes, I'm glad to hear that," Jack said to Helen, but his eyes fell back to Ianto. Anxiety was still evident in every line of his body, but he still looked about curiously. Jack was silently thankful that the residents were calm today. Ianto would be spared the bone-chilling screams and the need to physically restrain straining bodies. If the peace held, Jack would be able to get Ianto through his first visit without him having to witness someone trying to rend their clothes, or worse, their own skin. Jack watched Ianto looking around them as they walked. He met Jack's eyes with his own level gaze, steady and unflinching. Jack saw the challenge there; Ianto was ready for him to bring on whatever horrors they had to face today.

Helen continued to lead the way down a corridor with doors at regular intervals on the right hand wall. Each door had a small light in it; red glowed from closed doors, green from open ones. Affixed just under each light was a strip of white medical tape. On each strip of tape was written a name in fat, black marker: 'Dafyd', 'Varma', 'Andersen', 'Hall'. On and on, the doors continued. As they passed, it was evident that some of the rooms were unoccupied. Others were shut tightly and the light glowed red, as if the occupant was trying to shut out the world.

Helen paused before a door to a rather large room that contained several comfortable sitting chairs and a television set. A small number of people were scattered about the room, engaged in various quiet activities. A woman with long blond hair pulled her tresses around her face and stood to hurry from the room. Ianto smiled at her as she passed, in spite of the fact that the woman couldn't, or wouldn't, meet his eyes. Still, his gaze lingered on her retreating back. Jack saw sadness there, but he also saw the compassion he had hoped to see. Ianto understood who these people were, and that what could be done for them was being done. He empathized deeply, but didn't feel the need to lay blame for their predicament. He didn't expect Jack to 'fix' this. Jack was nearly undone by the wave of relief and appreciation that threatened to overwhelm him as he observed Ianto's reaction to their surroundings.

"Helen," Jack began, tearing himself away from staring at Ianto and surreptitiously squeezing his hand, "you know better than anyone how much busier we've gotten in recent months." Jack smiled as Helen rolled her eyes in tacit agreement. "It's gotten difficult for me to keep up with getting you the things that you need for the residents here."

"You're a busy man," Helen said understandingly.

"It doesn't change the fact that you still need certain things to keep this place running, let alone comfortably," Jack wasn't about to be placated when they all knew that what he said was true, "so I want you to start contacting Ianto for any supplies you need. Whatever you need; the usual food and sundries, or anything new and unusual for a resident. If Ianto can't get it, it probably can't be gotten."

Jack felt Ianto's gaze fall heavily on him and burn right through. He spoke only the truth as he knew it, but apparently speaking it out loud had surprised Ianto. He obviously hadn't forgiven himself and couldn't fathom that he could possibly be back in Jack's good graces already. Jack fervently hoped that working together to maintain Flat Holm would demonstrate to Ianto that his abilities were valued. That he was still valued.

"If at any time you need me and can't reach me for some reason," Jack continued on to Helen, "don't hesitate to contact Ianto, he'll get you sorted."  
Jack watched Ianto as the enormity of what Jack was asking of him, entrusting in him, finally registered. They shared an important secret with one another. Jack saw in Ianto's eyes the exact moment when he realized that he was needed. The significance wasn't lost on either of them. Jack was unprepared for the sense of elation in which he was suddenly awash. He was no longer alone in this.

 

While he and Helen moved through the facility and talked business, Jack kept an eye on Ianto as he acquainted himself with the physical layout, the staff, and a good number of the residents. Jack's heart swelled with pride as Ianto's equanimity never wavered.

They had just offered their goodbyes to Helen when Ianto spoke directly to Jack for the first time since they'd arrived, "Have you tried Retcon on the ones without too much physical damage?"

Jack supposed that question was inevitable, but the memories it conjured were painful, nonetheless. "It was the first thing I tried," he confessed, "they're just too damaged."

"What of their families?" Ianto asked as they neared the exit.

"That's probably the most regrettable part of all of this," Jack confessed, "they have to go on wondering what became of their loved ones."

"No, I don't suppose you could explain any of this to them, could you?" Jack was relieved that, on his own, Ianto had so readily understood the far-reaching implications so readily and on his own.

They were both much subdued when they left, but Jack knew that he'd been right to include Ianto in his work here.

II

_**J**_ack took Ianto with him on his next visit to Flat Holm. He didn't question the large, black leather carryall that Ianto brought with him. For all he knew, Helen had made some requests that Ianto was delivering.

However, Helen was just as surprised as Jack was when Ianto began to bring items out of the bag. Small houseplants; puzzle boxes; coloring books and markers; and, to Jack's surprise, several small, soft stuffed animals. Jack shook his head at his own obtuseness. He was so focused on the management of Flat Holm, he'd overlooked some very simple ways to improve the facility. He wanted to kiss Ianto for having thought of these simple things.

Jack knew he'd have to wait until later for the snog, though.

Having distributed his gifts to their recipients, Ianto now stood with one resident outside the door to her room. Between them they held a child's small chalkboard and a bit of chalk. Jack watched, overcome with curiosity, as together they wrote something on the board. When it was to the woman's satisfaction, Ianto reached up and tore off the medical tape from the door, replaced it with an adhesive hook and hung the small chalkboard with a length of chain. To both Jack's and Helen's mutual amazement, the woman beamed at Ianto before slipping through the door and into her room. Together, they approached the closed door and saw what was written on the board: Caroline, the young woman's first name, the 'i' dotted with a heart.

Jack's head shot up in amazement to see that Ianto had moved on to the next door. He knocked gently before entering. Jack couldn't stop himself from stepping into the doorway. He watched in awe as Ianto sat beside a painfully deformed man and worked with him to write on the chalkboard. Jack stepped back from the doorway as Ianto exited, replacing the medical tape with the hook and the newly written sign. Earl.

And so it went. Ianto spent their visit getting each resident to participate in the writing of their name on a chalkboard before he tore off the impersonal white tape and replaced it with the handwritten sign. Jack didn't fail to notice that Ianto was writing first names on the boards, not surnames.

"Wherever did you find that brilliant boy?" Jack heard Helen ask from beside him.

"Actually, he found me," Jack said, with no small amount of wonder, "huh. I'm beginning to think that that might have been my lucky day."

When they left, the place seemed just a little less cold and just a little bit brighter.

II

With Jack's blessing, Ianto went alone to Flat Holm and painted one wall of the facility a bright, cheery color. He was saddened for days afterwards when the fumes were too much for a couple of the residents and the paint had to be stripped off. Jack knew it continued to bother Ianto that the walls always remained the same dreary, faded and peeling colors. He wished he could fix it for Ianto. Jack ached each time he saw Ianto's crestfallen expression. It just couldn't be helped.

Jack noticed that over time each resident's quarters began to seem more like a personal bedroom than an institutional cell. Over time, he began to speak less and less with Helen, but when he did, it was about the status of the facility and the residents, or about the fact he was bringing in a new victim. Still, each time Jack made a visit to Flat Holm he noticed small, human changes that seemed to make the entire place just a little less forbidding. It all bore the unmistakable mark of Ianto's passage.

One night, after Helen's weekly report, she rang off by saying, "Please, tell Ianto that the little guitar he brought for Myles has worked wonders. He answered a question one of the other nurses asked him today. Thank him for us, would you?"

Jack promised to do so and ended the call. He sat back in his chair and was never more sure that he had been right to bring Ianto in on the secret of Flat Holm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ianto navigate and negotiate their way through the events seen in 'Adrift'.

**_I_**anto was waiting for him outside of the small, community playhouse. A local Welsh actor who had made good in London and America had returned home for a limited run of the one-man, one-act play, "Iphigenia in Orem". Ianto wanted badly to see a performance, so Jack had no trouble indulging him on this 'Weevil Hunting' night.

Jack jogged up to where Ianto stood waiting and pressed a firm kiss of greeting to his lips. Instantly, Jack felt lighter. Nights out with Ianto did that for him; let him escape, let him put all else aside and just be 'Jack'. When he pulled back, Ianto grasped the ends of his coat and pulled them open to regard his apparel. Ianto raised one eyebrow and gently blew a long breath out through pursed lips. Jack couldn't help but kiss him again in appreciation of Ianto's approval of his wardrobe choice. He always felt like a giddy teenager when he won Ianto's approval.

They entered the small theater and found their seats. As the house lights went down, Jack fervently hoped the play was engrossing and entertaining. He could use the distraction. His earlier conversation with Gwen was nearly a realization of his worst nightmare coming true. Jack didn't want to contemplate what could happen if she didn't let it alone.

An hour and a half later, Ianto threaded his fingers through Jack's as they walked and discussed whether to slip into a pub or head back to Ianto's. Jack must not have been giving Ianto his full attention because he was suddenly being asked a question he hated having to answer.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Ianto gave Jack's hand a shake, "You're distracted."

"Nothing important," he tried to put Ianto off, not wanting to taint their pleasant evening along together. They got so few after all.

"Jack," Ianto was obviously exasperated, as he always was when he thought Jack was needlessly evading something he could help with, "it's just us here."

He sighed heavily at Ianto's code for the fact that they were alone and Jack didn't have a real reason to hide, "Gwen's gotten herself involved in the Missing Persons search for Jonah Bevin."

"Fuck," he heard Ianto whisper.

"Yeah," Jack concurred, "as I was heading out to meet you she cornered me in my office to ask why I was caught on the barrage by CCTV forty-five minutes after Jonah disappeared." He was still amazed at how casual he'd managed to sound in spite of his racing heart and dry mouth.

"Time to start wiping the footage after a disappearance?" Jack knew Ianto would take the initiative to do just that from this moment on.

"Evidently," Jack responded with a heavy sigh. He suddenly felt very tired.

"How did she get her teeth into this?" Jack's mind conjured an image of Gwen Cooper with a file folder between her teeth, shaking her head like a stubborn terrier.

"P.C. Andy," he answered, smiling at the image.

"Really?"

Jack heard the smile in Ianto's voice and glanced over to see the smile on his face. "Oi!" Jack frowned.

Ianto smiled wider and squeezed Jack's fingers tighter, "Oh, please." He said, as if scolding a young child. "What did you tell her?"

Successfully steered back on topic Jack answered, "That there was any number of reasons I was on the barrage and I didn't remember the specific incident." Jack replied and then a more pleasant thought occurred to him, "We should take lunch at that little coffee shack over there tomorrow."

"Yeah, might do," Ianto acknowledged. Trouble was, he had more than a few traits in common with Gwen, "Do you think she's going to drop it?"

"Hell no," Jack growled, "Would you?"

"If you told me to I would, but you and I both know Gwen would take the opportunity to defy you and dig her heels in deep." Jack really hated to hear his silent thoughts  
about Gwen voiced by Ianto. It made them real.

"That's what I'm afraid of." They had nearly reached Ianto's flat so Jack guessed they were forgoing the pub tonight after all.

"How do you want to handle her?" He knew Ianto was already formulating a strategy for how the two of them were going to protect their very vital secret.

"Stonewall her until she gives it up," Jack said, fully aware that was his standard response to any resistance to his authority.

"You remember we're talking about Gwen, yeah?" Trouble was, Ianto also knew it was Jack's standard response to his authority being challenged. Second on the list was some good physical intimidation.

"Do you want her interfering in all the progress you've made there in the last year or so?" Jack really didn't want Gwen's 'take-no-prisoners' way of doing things to completely unravel all that Ianto's gentle serenity had accomplished.

"Not particularly but perhaps full disclosure would show her the futility of anything other than what we're already doing," Ianto was nothing if not practical, Jack thought.

"Do you want Gwen taking images of Flat Holm to sleep with her every night?" Jack's own words surprised even himself. Until he'd spoken, he'd thought he was only angry with Gwen for digging in to Jonah's disappearance.

"No," Ianto fell silent and Jack knew he was remembering his own first visit to the horrors of Flat Holm.

"Well, there you are, then," he kept his tone gentle.

They were at Ianto's door and he was inserting the key, "So, did you think that actor tonight was handsome?" Jack asked, not even hiding the fact he was changing the subject and closing the topic to further discussion.

"He was fucking hot," Ianto purred as he hung up his Mac.

Jack followed suit with his greatcoat, "Having fantasies about him?" Jack's dick twitched at Ianto's answer. This certainly had potential.

"Aren't you?" Ianto asked playfully over his shoulder.

Jack was having fantasies about watching Ianto fuck the young lad but that was beside the point, he wanted to know which of Ianto's buttons were itching to be pushed  
tonight, "What would you like to do to him if you could?"

"Who says I want to do anything to him?" That had Jack's cock at half-mast in a fraction of a second.

"What would you like him to do to you?" He had no compunction about being a stand-in in Ianto's fantasies of another man.

Jack watched Ianto turn to face him. He wore a very dark but sensual expression; one that had memories of past experiences shooting straight to Jack's cock. He was fully hard, now.

"I'd like him to dress in vintage WWII clothing, including braces, shove me to my knees and make me suck him off." Ianto removed his suit Jacket and tossed it casually aside.

Obviously, it occurred to Jack, the meaning behind Ianto's expression hadn't changed. Always one to oblige, Jack stepped forward and wrapped the fingers of one hand around the back of Ianto's neck. He placed his other hand on Ianto's shoulder and with gentle but insistent pressure he shoved Ianto down to his knees.

Ianto's easy compliance had Jack's erection threatening to shove through the fly of his trousers. He released Ianto's shoulder in order to hastily open his flies and take out his hard cock. He grasped himself at the base and with the hand still around Ianto's neck, and shoved himself past those moist, pink lips.

He felt his prick jump as the wet heat of Ianto's sweet mouth wrapped around him then slid slickly down the length of his shaft. Jack gave an experimental thrust of his hips and was rewarded by Ianto humming around his prick. The vibrations shot through Jack's system and settled in his balls.

"Fuck, that's good," he whispered, looking down to where Ianto's swollen lips were stretched around his width.

Ianto's hands gripped Jack's hips but only to steady himself, he made no effort to control Jack's motions. He left himself open and receptive to Jack's thrusts. Ianto's unquestioning submission made Jack want to shove deep down his throat. He successfully resisted, but only just.

Jack watched as Ianto pulled back along his substantial length and paused, lips wrapped only around the head of his cock. The sloppy warmth around only the tip increased in intensity as the ambient air hit his spit-slicked shaft and chilled it delightfully. Jack's grip on Ianto's neck tightened when he felt him slide his tongue into the slit of Jack's member one moment, only to run it under the foreskin the next.

"Fuck, you're beautiful," Jack said breathlessly, meaning his words sincerely, "you make me want to grab your head and face-fuck you 'til I come down your throat."  
Ianto's response to Jack's vulgar talk was to slide himself all the way down as close the root as he could get, dragging his tongue along the fat vein on the underside of the shaft as he went. That was a neat little trick Ianto had already known how to perform when Jack had finally gotten to him. He vowed he'd shake the hand of the man who had taught Ianto that sweet bit of mischief if he ever got to meet him.

Jack suddenly ached for that delightful hot/cold sensation on his cock. He grasped Ianto's head with both hands and pulled him back slowly so that delicious mouth slid sinfully down his length and back to the tip. Jack hissed, then growled as the cool air shocked his system again.

Ianto dragged his teeth lightly over Jack's glans. "Ah," Jack gasped, "you brilliant little cocksucker."

Jack was done playing. He tightened his hold on Ianto's head. He felt Ianto's mouth go slack as Jack began to thrust himself in and out of that delectable mouth, shoving himself as far back into Ianto's throat as he could get without choking or doing damage to him.

Ianto breathed heavily around and against him as Jack came into his mouth, "Christ, fuck!" he shouted as his balls rose up toward his body and his muscles all convulsed with the intensity of his pleasure. He felt his seed surging out and down Ianto's flexing throat.

In the blink of an eye, the head of Jack's cock became overly sensitive and he hissed in reaction. Ianto gently released him and sat back on his heels. Jack eased himself back into his trousers and struggled to regain his breath. He glanced down in time to see Ianto wipe the last of Jack's come from his lips with the back of one trembling hand.

Jack had a sudden flash of inspiration and he reached down to grasp Ianto by the tie. He stood the other man up and dragged him roughly to the bedroom. "Strip and kneel on the bed." he ordered, moving to the subtle 'toy box' in the corner of the room. He didn't look to see if Ianto was complying. Jack knew he would.

Selecting a fresh bottle of lube, some light restraints and Ianto's favorite anal toy from the toy chest, Jack turned back. Ianto was just shedding the last of his clothes and moving to kneel on the bed.

"I don't recall telling you what else I wanted to have that handsome actor do to me," Ianto said as he regarded Jack, running his hand slowly along his erection.  
Ianto's token resistance was solely for Jack's benefit, they both knew. The question was just how far Jack wanted to take things tonight. "You got your one wish," Jack answered the unspoken question by tossing his selections onto the bed, "now we're going to explore what I would like to do to him."

Having received his answer, Ianto simply reached for the wrist restraints and buckled them on. Jack took his now bound hands and led Ianto to the headboard and hooked the cuffs to the small carabineer he'd inconspicuously installed quite some time ago.

"Head down, arse up," Jack ordered gently and quickly removed his clothing. He slid onto the bed and between Ianto's thighs.

Jack took a moment to admire the firm lines of Ianto's restrained and straining body. He loved him this way. Ianto's lean form was stretched along the bed, muscles defined as he posed in a position of stress. Jack ran his hands over Ianto's firm arse then eased them over his taut back and shoulders. He watched as Ianto tightly gripped the headboard and pressed into his hands. Yes, he loved Ianto like this; naked, tense and strung out awaiting Jack's pleasure.

He leaned over and placed tender kisses along the curve of Ianto's arse and up the length of his stiffened spine. Small beads of sweat were just beginning to form across his flushed skin. Jack dragged his tongue down Ianto's flank and was rewarded with a sensitive twitch and a shiver.

Jack ran his fingers between Ianto's arse cheeks and parted them gently. He laid his tongue along the heated flesh of Ianto's intimate opening and gave a firm swipe.  
"Mmmmm," he heard Ianto moan at the same time he wriggled his arse slightly against Jack's mouth.

He dragged the flat of his tongue along Ianto's warmth again and drew a breath, filled with the scents of sweat and Ianto's individual musk. Jack teasingly pressed the firmed tip of his tongue against Ianto's puckered aperture and felt it clench tightly against him in surprise, only to relax for him a moment later.

"Oh God," Ianto groaned on a deep chuckle.

Jack reached for the lube and the toy and cracked the lid of the bottle. He copiously doused the anal toy with the gel and drizzled some of the cool liquid along Ianto's crevice. He heard a gasp followed by a chuffed laugh of surprise. Jack smeared the lube around with the fingers of one hand, then pressed it into Ianto's hole with his thumb. He pressed in past his first knuckle and gave a slight twist. At Ianto's pleased sigh Jack pressed in up to the base of his thumb and gave another twist. Ianto pressed back into Jack's invasion. He withdrew his thumb again and coated it is fresh lube then pressed inward again, this time not pausing at the first knuckle but sinking it deep in one thrust. Ianto pressed against the incursion again.

"Yeah, that's it." Jack whispered against the base of Ianto's spine as he pressed his thumb inward yet again.

He was impatient, driven nuts by Ianto's cooperation and enthusiasm. Jack took the anal toy and eased it up against Ianto's opening. He pushed it in slowly but firmly, pressing past all resistance, what little there was.

Jack felt Ianto consciously relax into the violation. After the initial tension, the toy slid the entire rest of the way until the wide base rested against Ianto's arse cheeks. Jack could see Ianto's hole stretched wide, greedily clasping at the toy. Each subtle movement Ianto made cause his opening to clench and the toy bounced and wobbled in response. Jack loved that sight. He leaned in and whispered lewd words against Ianto's arse cheek. Words only he himself heard but the warmth of his breath puffed against Ianto's hot flesh. A particularly strong twitch from Ianto incited Jack to roughly bite his bare arse cheek.

Jack sat back to take in the sight before him. The base of the anal toy protruded vulgarly from Ianto's body and Jack admired the view. He slicked up his hands with a generous amount of lube and reached between Ianto's thighs to cradle his balls at the same time he began to rapidly stroke his hard cock.

Ianto pressed against Jack's hands with each caress. When he heard Ianto's breath catch, he stopped and released the rigid flesh. Without pause, Jack reached up to the flat base of the toy that extended out from Ianto's body and slapped it. He smacked his hand gently against the flat base several times in rapid succession. Jack watched Ianto's back arch and heard his surprised gasp.

Jack loved that reaction. It was just the reaction he wanted from Ianto. Jack leaned down and pressed open-mouthed kisses along the top of the crevice of his arse. With his lips still pressed to Ianto's flesh, Jack slapped the base of the toy again, sending vibrations shooting through Ianto's body and tearing harsh groans from his throat.  
He gave no time for recovery. Jack reached back between Ianto's thighs and grasped his erection and began to stroke again in earnest. The lube on his hands made a slick, sliding sound as Ianto responded immediately by pressing his cock roughly into Jack's fist. The sloppy, wet sounds grew louder as Jack squeezed and fisted Ianto's cock in tandem with each downward snap of Ianto's hips.

When he felt Ianto's balls rise toward his body, Jack reached up with his free hand to, again, slap the base of the toy with his open palm. Ianto's entire frame shook in reaction and Jack bit down on a now sensitive arse cheek, immediately soothing it with a broad lick of his tongue.

"Oh fuck," Ianto whimpered.

Jack loved the sound of Ianto coming apart, his arse filled and his cock stroked. He fisted Ianto hard and fast in the same rhythm that he tapped his fingers against the toy buried in Ianto's body. He knew there was no way Ianto could last under the twin assault.

He pressed his lips to the sweat-moistened small of Ianto's back and murmured, "Come for me. That's it, just come. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just like that." Jack chanted his encouragement while he pumped Ianto's hard on and rhythmically slapped the base of the anal toy.

Ianto came hard with a harsh shout and rough snaps of his hips. Hot, ropey strands of come coated Jack's fist and shot out over the coverlet. Jack pressed the toy hard into Ianto's body, pushing deep and milking Ianto's climax from him. He forced Ianto to ride the toy with each orgasmic wave while at the same time showing his twitching cock no quarter.

Jack knew when Ianto was sated when his knees slid out from under him. He eased the toy out of Ianto's body and helped him to lay the rest of the way flat onto the mattress. Jack kissed his way up Ianto's back, alternating the press of lips with the drag of his tongue until he could reach the restraints to release Ianto's wrists.  
Ianto rolled to his side and gave Jack a searching look, "So that's what you'd do to pretty actor boys if you had the chance?"

"That's what I'd do to pretty actor boys if they're Welsh and look stunning in a tone-on-tone suit complete with waistcoat," Jack retorted as he slid down beside Ianto, working to hide his smile.

"Let me know if you ever need to work out the details of a fantasy again," Ianto said around a yawn.

"Deal," Jack whispered. He wrapped himself around Ianto's body and they slept.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ianto navigate and negotiate their way through the events seen in 'Adrift'.

**_J_**ack could still hear Ianto's low voice in the conference room behind him. He knew it was just a matter of moments before Ianto caught up to him so Jack slowed his pace. He was as frightened as he was angry but he was just as afraid to let anyone know that. Ianto would suspect, because it was a fear the two of them shared. Jack had tried casual reassurance, he'd tried logical discourse and finally he'd resorted to a direct order. She had to stop. The secret of Flat Holm Island had to remain a secret, both for the residents' security and for Gwen's peace of mind.

Bless Ianto for his ability to feign casual disinterest in the face of Gwen's pig-headedness. All through Gwen's tirade he'd appeared as baffled by the goings on as Owen and Tosh. The difference was, Ianto knew exactly what was going on. Still, he often seemed as though he were a middle child; always brokering peace and diffusing tension. Jack knew Ianto would appeal to him to try to find a way to mollify Gwen. It just couldn't be done and Ianto would see that. He had to see that. Ianto would do as Jack asked him. He understood the painful necessity of their secret.

Ianto caught Jack in the corridor just outside of the conference room.

"Jack," Ianto kept his voice low so as to keep their discussion from the ears of the rest of the team, "she's put too many of the pieces together on her own. She's not going to let this go."

"She's going to have to," Jack hissed in return, "she's been ordered to drop it."

They stood facing one another tensely, both with their hands planted firmly on their hips. Each glanced occasionally back toward the room they had recently vacated to make sure they were still being watched but not overheard.

"You know at least as well as I, this is only going to make her keep digging," Ianto insisted.

"So we should just go for full disclosure?" Jack asked incredulously.

"No, of course not," Ianto's voice softened as if he were trying to be reasonable, "but a little controlled disclosure would let us manage what she find out and what she does with the information. Then we could all move on with our jobs."

"You want to take her on a guided tour of the island?" Jack couldn't help his sarcasm; he was growing more and more anxious with Ianto's logical arguments.

"I'm saying confirm for her that the negative spikes take people," Ianto said in a soothing voice, "and let her focus on that."

"No," Jack refused to listen to any more, "I've ordered her to let it go." He pointed decisively at Ianto, "And, you do the same.

Jack turned on his heel and stormed down the hallway. He'd ordered Gwen to drop the entire thing and he needed to believe she would. Now was not the time to have to deal with her. He had a new resident, a new victim of the rift to deliver to Flat Holm tomorrow and he dreaded it. He didn't need Gwen haranguing him about all of this right now.

Jack had ordered Ianto to drop it as well; to mention nothing more about it. Ianto would help him enforce his order to Gwen. Jack could tell Ianto wasn't happy about it, but he'd do it.

Later that afternoon, Jack heard the cog door activate and he thought he heard Gwen telling Tosh that she was meeting Rhys for lunch. He glanced up to see that Gwen was indeed leaving. Jack sighed to himself, realizing that she was well and truly angry with him and that didn't bode well for what he was hoping to do. Gwen always came to his office to say hello or goodbye. She might bypass any one of the others, particularly, Ianto, but she always spoke with Jack. This wasn't good.

Ianto was scarce most of the afternoon, but he finally surfaced when Tosh and Owen had begged off for the night. Jack was more than a little thrilled when Ianto brought them both a coffee and took up his perch on Jack's desk. He swallowed his first sip of scalding brew and threw Ianto and grateful look. His expression told Jack that Ianto had an agenda and Jack knew they were going to have to get it out of the way before he brought up his idea for a round of naked hide-n-seek.

"Would you like me to go with you tomorrow?" Ianto started the conversation.

He did. He did want Ianto beside him, giving him a hand to hold while he dealt with the horrors of Flat Holm. "No," Jack answered instead as he sat back, cradling his mug, "You know I don't like to subject you to new residents until I can warn you about their…quirks." Jack finished lamely. He shuddered at the thought that Ianto might have had to hear Jonah before Jack had prepared him for the shock of it.

"So you go face the unknown on your own," Ianto chided. It was an old argument and one Jack never let Ianto win.

"Yes," Jack said firmly, "it's enough you know about those terrors in the first place. I refuse to subject you to anymore." Jack hated that he'd ever had to subject Ianto to any of it at all.

"I used to think I surprised you with how I dealt with Flat Holm my first time," Ianto seemed to be changing the subject but Jack knew better.

"You did," Jack said cautiously, careful not to commit too much before he knew where Ianto was headed.

"Gwen might surprise you, too." Jack knew Ianto was wrong. It didn't happen often, but it did still happen.

"I knew going in how you were going to deal with that place," Jack clarified, "what surprised and impressed me was how quickly you accepted it all." Jack remembered with great pride how stoic Ianto had been. How he'd managed to lend a little strength to Jack in what was a very overwhelming situation.

"Which is why I think…" Jack didn't give Ianto a chance to finish.

"I already know how Gwen will react, Ianto," he didn't want to lose his temper but he was already on edge about tomorrow, "and they can not be fixed." As an afterthought he added, "You know that as well as I do."

"Maybe it's time Gwen learned that not everything can be put right," Ianto said slowly.

"You can't be serious," Jack scoffed, afraid that Ianto was indeed serious.

"Jack, she has a very arrogant tendency to believe she always knows what's best for everyone else," Ianto was growing annoyed which baffled Jack.  
"I think that's overstating things," he tried to interrupt.

"But it's not," Ianto forged on, "she wants to fix everyone and everything and naively thinks that can actually be done. How long does she have to work here before she learns that sometimes, things don't end happily ever after?"

Jack gaped at Ianto's outburst, suddenly very sad that someone so young and so beautiful had learned such a hard lesson already.

"Sometimes," Ianto went on when Jack remained silent, "we have to do all that we can do and accept that it's not enough."

Jack wasn't ready for Ianto to be right. Not about Gwen, "Do you really want Gwen to learn that lesson? Our bright and shiny Gwen?"

"Your stubborn and defiant Gwen?" Ianto countered.

 

That assessment seemed particularly harsh coming from Ianto. "Is she really so unkind to you that you'd wish that kind of thing on her?"

"Not at all, Jack. Is her innocence so much more important to you than mine was that you'll allow her to get away with defiance and insubordination?"

"That's not fair, Ianto," Jack nearly yelled. The painful of the truth of Ianto's words ricocheted through him, "you have no idea how I regret the things you've learned; the things you've suffered."

"Do I not serve you and Torchwood better, knowing what I know about how things really are?"

"That's beside the point," Jack countered, desperately wanting to bring this conversation to an end, "Gwen serves us all very well because she remains so optimistic."

"When she's not being stubborn and obtuse."

Again, Jack wasn't sure what to make of Ianto's harshness, "Are you sure this isn't personal?"

"Why would you ask me that?" Ianto seemed genuinely baffled by Jack's question.

"I hear the comments, too, Ianto. I know she thinks I'm just marking time with you…" Jack stopped himself from going any further off the topic. He knew he'd let Gwen harbor fantasies about him longer than he should have. The result was Gwen's refusal to believe he and Ianto were any more than late night distractions for one another.  
"That's irrelevant to the issue at hand." Jack knew Ianto grew uncomfortable when their personal relationship and Torchwood collided.

"Is it? I tried to tell her at her wedding." He'd tried to be gentle, use logic to point out what a good thing she had going and to let go of her fantasies of him.

"Tell her what?"

"That she needs to quit harboring ideas of me and dedicate herself to Rhys. That once I met you, ending up where we are now was inevitable and I wouldn't have it any other way." It really had been inevitable. If not from the night in the park, at least from the night in the warehouse.

"Perhaps it's time she be told some solid truths a little more strongly and a little more directly. You wouldn't tolerate this kind of defiance from, say…Owen?"  
Wouldn't he? Would he not try to protect Owen from something damaging with equal vehemence. "I'll think about it," Jack sighed, "can I just get the new resident settled in before I have to deal with this definitively?"

"I think that's reasonable. May I offer you a distraction, Jack?"

"I was thinking a round of naked hide-n-seek?" Jack smiled widely, already thinking ahead to the conclusion of the game.

Ianto stood to remove his suit jacket, "You power down the Hub and I'll run and hide!"

II

**_J_**ack found Ianto in no time at all. To be honest, Ianto wanted to be found. Ianto always wanted to be found. He would leave a trail of his clothing at intervals along the path to his hiding place. Jack would follow the trail, collecting the clothing as we went. For each piece of clothing he found he would remove his own corresponding one. So it went, until Jack would arrive, naked, at Ianto's hiding place to 'find' him; equally naked.

Lately though, Ianto had gotten tricky. He'd grown quite adept at misleading Jack by tossing clothing in one place then backtracking and changing his path altogether. Jack was impatient. He hated when Ianto was able to hide longer than five, ten minutes at the most. When he saw that Ianto's clothing was leading down to the lower levels, Jack decided he wasn't going to chance a red herring. Instead of removing his boots and trousers, he sprinted back to Tosh's workstation and grabbed up her scanner. Since he had powered down the Hub, the lighting, the computers, and the doors were locked to manual and he'd have to power up to use a desktop so he swiped the scanner.

Sweeping his immediate area, Jack realized Ianto had backtracked and was hiding in the hothouse. Smiling to himself, Jack quickly snagged up all of Ianto's clothes and sprinted up the stairs. Reaching the door, Jack burst through and tossed their clothing aside, the illicit scanner wrapped up inside.

"Ianto," Jack cantillated, "come out, come out, wherever you are."

Jack found himself smacked flush in the naked chest by a stem-less flower blossom, "You cheated, Jack!" Ianto said from a darkened corner of the room.

"Ianto, I'm wounded," Jack covered his heart with one hand as he strolled over to Ianto's hiding place, "would I do that to you?"

Ianto turned to face him, "You're not very patient." He grumbled his displeasure.

"You're up here naked and I'm going to waste time following a false trail of clothing?" Jack asked, smiling widely, "Uh uh."

Ianto was naked. Gloriously naked, in fact. He stepped from around a table of potted flowers, most likely one of the ones he'd beheaded a moment ago. Jack was treated to the delicious sight of Ianto's rock-hard cock bobbing against his belly with each movement. It was large and red and so fucking enticing.

Jack was on Ianto in an instant. He pressed him backward into the nearest table and fell to his knees. He took Ianto's cock into his mouth and sucked hard and greedily. Ianto put up a feeble protest until Jack had his entire mouth locked around the shaft. As soon as he slid himself backward toward the head, Jack felt Ianto's hands clench in his hair.

Ianto was moaning above him and Jack grasped himself through his trousers, sorry now that he hadn't removed them after all. He decided he'd just make quick work of Ianto so then he could strip off the last of his confining clothes and they could move on to more…mutual…pursuits.

Jack released himself and moved his hand up to flick at one of Ianto's peaked nipples. He held Ianto still against the table with his other hand and slid himself rapidly up and down Ianto's cock. Each time he drew back he flicked his tongue over the head, then flattened it for the ride down the underside of the shaft. He pressed his tongue down in the back, opened his throat and squeezed Ianto's nipple hard; all at the same time. Jack buried his face in the curling hairs of Ianto's groin and felt Ianto's erection slide down the back of his throat.

Ianto came hard in Jack's mouth. He arched himself against the table, knocking it back several inches as he thrust. Jack held him steady and swallowed him down before he sat back on his heels to contemplate what they could do once he was naked.

Jack was more than a little surprised when Ianto stepped away from his and began to retrieve his clothing from the pile he'd carelessly tossed aside.

"Ianto," Jack said with amazement, "you are not getting dressed, are you?"

Ianto held up the rule-breaking scanner he'd discovered amongst their clothes, "Cheaters don't get rewarded."

Jack stood, "If I'd followed your false trail of clothing I'd still be searching for you." he argued. "Instead, you've already had a mind-melting blowjob."

Ianto had his trousers on now, so Jack unfastened his own and removed his straining erection, "Oh, Ianto," he called softly.

Thankfully, Ianto turned to catch sight of Jack languidly stroking his own cock. It had the desired effect with Ianto. He threw down the rest of his clothes and stalked over to Jack.

The abused table slid back another several inches with such a clatter, it reminded Jack of the klaxon on the cog door. He paid it no mind as he now had Ianto's tongue in this mouth and Ianto's hand in his trousers. Ianto had the most wickedly talented fingers and right now they were working their magic on his cock. They were kissing each other as if they were starved. Jack felt his climax just beginning to rise and he needed a deep breath so he tore his mouth away from Ianto's and…

_'Oh my god!'_

Jack stared in great annoyance and dismay at Gwen bloody Cooper. What the fuck was she doing here? She'd had to open that fucking door with the key, which meant it was Jacky's-night-time-private-time. Some fucking discretion would have been nice, here. Not to mention a little courtesy. Don't people in the twenty-first century phone first, before coming to someone's home?

Immediately, Ianto's hand pulled out of his trousers and that was followed by Ianto's heat pulling away from him completely. Jack had to laugh. It would be fucking funny if it weren't so bloody frustrating! Gwen at least had the decency to leave the room but Ianto was mortified. He was flushed a bright red and was hastily throwing on his shirt to pursue Gwen out the door and along the catwalk.

Jack took several deep breaths and glanced up in a silent bid for patience. He knew Ianto was embarrassed at being caught in so intimate an act. He knew Ianto was not embarrassed at having been caught with Jack. This was about Gwen and only about Gwen. Her blind stubbornness, uninformed defiance and yes, even her disrespect for Ianto.

_'So that's what they're calling it these days.'_

Her snide comment still rang in his ears. If Gwen Cooper was so fired up to look behind closed doors, Jack was about to lead her through a doozy. Jack tossed on his shirt but left it hanging open and didn't bother to fasten his trousers. She'd come into his home; uninvited and unannounced during his personal time with Ianto he was damned if he was going to appear ashamed at being caught. He was damned proud, point of fact. He really didn't deserve Ianto and yet…he got to get naked with him anyway. Jack was pretty fucking proud of that fact. And grateful.

Jack was not unaware of the fact that Ianto stood between himself and Gwen. He hardly looked up and barely said a word but it was clear. Ianto felt trapped between him and Gwen as they had their battle of wills on the catwalk. Jack asserted himself physically and emotionally, both as Torchwood's Captain and as Ianto's lover. She refused to be deflected with humor so Jack told her in no uncertain terms to drop the whole Jonah Bevin thing. If he were lucky, she'd drop the Jonah thing until tomorrow and if she knew what was good for her she'd give up on needling them both about their relationship.

Jack considered both topics closed.

_'Coming back in? Work to do.'  
_  
It wasn't lost on Jack that Ianto had remained virtually silent, had hardly looked at him, and hadn't left his place trapped directly between himself and Gwen. If that wasn't a lesson in body language, Jack was hard pressed to know what was. He took his shirt back off as soon as he was back inside the hothouse but that was mostly for Gwen's benefit. Let her think she hadn't disrupted them at all. Jack, though, was under no illusions. Ianto's mood was most likely dead three ways from Sunday.

Ianto's posture was stiff when he re-entered the hothouse. He kept his hands in his trousers and he gave Jack a long, dark look.

"It's okay, Ianto," Jack said encouragingly, "I can tell you need to say something."

"Damn it, Jack," Ianto said in a harsh whisper, obviously trying not to be heard by Gwen, "I told you this was going to keep happening."

"And I know what you want me to do about it but I just want to get through tomorrow as peacefully as possible," Jack whispered just as harshly, also not wanting Gwen to overhear.

"She isn't going to let you," Ianto spat.

"I can handle her," Jack rejoined hotly.

"You obviously can't, Jack! She walked right through your locked front door as if she owns the place. You'd have taken a strip off of Owen for doing the same." Ianto's hands were out of his pockets now and were gesticulating wildly.

"I know you're embarrassed…" Jack began, trying to calm things down between them.

"That's beside the point." Ianto cut him off, "It's time she learned that actions have consequences. Pollyanna needs to learn that she doesn't need to know what's behind every door."

Jack folded his arms across his chest and gave Ianto a long, searching look. "She can learn that lesson some other time."

Neither of them looked away as they heard the cog door activate. Gwen was gone from the Hub and Jack could feel her specter disappear from between Ianto and him.  
Ianto stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Jack, pulling him close. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back tomorrow," he said against Jack's neck, "we'll go out somewhere, and chase the ghosts away together."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Ianto navigate and negotiate their way through the events seen in 'Adrift'.

**_J_**ack stormed away from the door to Jonah Bevin's room. He still wasn't sure if he wanted to shoot Gwen or Retcon her back to nappies. He was still shaking with rage. When did she start thinking it was all right to speak to him that way? At what point did her stubborn need to solve this mystery become an open defiance of his authority? She'd wanted answers and when he'd finally tried to give them to her she shouted at him, barked orders at him. She'd refused to let him ease her understanding of Flat Holm and what she would see and hear. As far as Jack was concerned, she deserved everything she got from here on out. Gwen wanted answers? She was about to get them in spades.

Helen tried to keep pace with him but she fell behind a little. Jack could still hear her say, "I'm sorry, Captain. She had a proper Torchwood access code."

He slowed a little to let her catch up, "You didn't do anything wrong, Helen." he reassured her. "This is strictly between my employees and me." Jack tried to calm himself, keep his voice steady so as not to cause Helen any more anxiety. He took one deep breath; then another. He felt himself coming back under control. It wouldn't do to take his anger at Gwen out on Helen.

"I thought it was strange you didn't bring her yourself like you did the first time Ianto visited," Helen continued on, obviously still upset, confused, and uncomfortable by the confrontation she had just seen, "but she had a proper code."

"Well, it's Ianto's fault she found her way here at all," Jack ground out, his rage rolling over him again; he still tried to keep the majority of it from his tone. He wasn't sure whom he was angrier at; the insubordinate Gwen, or Ianto, The Great Betrayer. He'd say one thing for Ianto, though; he'd kept his mutiny private.

"Then he must have thought it was important she see this place," Helen defended Ianto. Any other time her allegiance would have made Jack smile.

"When she's done with Jonah, escort her out," Jack ordered, "I'll make sure she gets off the island."

Jack stormed through the door and out of the bunker into the sunlight that did nothing to lighten his mood.

II

**_J_**ack headed back to the bunker to warn Helen to prepare for Gwen's return with Nikki. This mess just kept escalating and Jack couldn't seem to get it back under control.  
He resisted the urge to punch something. Ianto had opened Pandora's box with this one and he'd been absolutely wrong about their ability to control Gwen and the information she gleaned. The knowledge that Ianto had betrayed Jack in order to lead her to Flat Holm had to be contributing Gwen's rebellion, Jack thought. Damn them both.

When he told Helen to expect Gwen's return with Nikki, he could see in her eyes that she didn't think it was wise. Jack had to agree but he also didn't see a way around it any longer.

"I'll have to get them out of here before it starts," Helen said.

"Yes, you will." Jack agreed. "His mother can't be allowed to see and hear that."

"Won't you be here, too?" Helen seemed distressed at having to manage the visitors without him. Jack felt a charge of regret shoot through his body at the thought of leaving her to deal with this mess on her own but his need to return to the Hub was greater.

"No," Jack said shortly, "I need to get back to deal with Ianto. Call me if you need me to return, though." He sincerely hoped she would manage without him.

Jack could tell Helen was puzzled by all of the day's events but it couldn't be helped. He turned to leave, still shaken by Gwen's unwitting question about Jack having ever lost anyone. He'd lost more loved ones than Gwen Cooper ever will and yet she had the audacity to reach for the emotional blackmail. Jack would give anything to find out what had happened to Gray but damn it, these people here in Cardiff were not better served by knowing what kind of havoc the Rift wreaked on their city. And, there was Gwen, so sure her need to 'fix' everything was better than leaving the families innocent. She'd wanted answers, now she had them. Let Gwen deal with the consequences of this knowledge and her own decisions. Just as Jack had to do on a daily basis.

He cast off from the dock and pointed the small boat across the channel and headed back to the Hub. Jack was dreading the coming confrontation with Ianto. Still, he wasn't waiting around for Gwen to drag Nikki back to the island and ruin the woman's life even further. Jack was going to let Gwen muddle through this all on her own.

II

**_A_**s the lift brought Jack down into the Hub, he could see Ianto below, standing by the coffee maker. His mobile was to his ear. Jack saw Ianto glance up briefly as the lift activated, but he wouldn't or couldn't meet Jack's gaze. If he'd had any doubts about Ianto's involvement in Gwen finding Flat Holm, that seemingly guilty behavior erased them. Jack's heart ached with regret at the same time he raged against Ianto's betrayal of him.

Jack stepped off the lift when it stopped and paused to listen to Ianto's side of the conversation.

"…Jack's tried to tell her but she's convinced she knows better than everyone else…I'm sorry it's all being left in your hands…do the best you can to get them out before it starts but if you can't…it will rather prove what Jack has been trying to tell her all along…no, he's every right to be angry with me…I really didn't think I had a choice any longer. I needed to find a way to stop her from coming at him from all angles with this. Logic and reason and direct orders didn't work…Thank you, Helen, I'll be fine eventually…goodbye."

Jack watched Ianto slip the mobile into his trouser pocket and begin to work with the coffee machine. His voice, when he spoke, was calm and soothing, and gave nothing away of the tension that was coming off his body in waves.

"There's a plate of cold cuts and toast squares on your desk. I can add some sliced cheese if you like. Cake or biscuits, your choice, when you're done. I'll bring your coffee in as soon as it's ready."

"Ianto, we need to talk," Jack started in a stern voice, only to be interrupted.

"I know Jack, but first you need to eat and relax and shake off the specter of that place." Ianto said implacably.

"I'm not going to be put off…" that was exactly what Jack wanted to do but this insubordination needed to be addressed.

"I know," Ianto interrupted again, "I'm simply seeing to your immediate needs so you'll be able to deal appropriately with our talk."

Jack wasn't so sure it was as simple as all that but he retreated to his office all the same. If he were honest with himself he really didn't want to have to deal with Ianto's perfidy.

II

**_J_**ack admitted to himself that Ianto had been right to insist that he eat. He was already feeling better; calmer, more in control. The coffee Ianto had wordlessly set on his desk further soothed him. He had just finished everything on his lunch plate when Ianto silently appeared with a fresh plate that held both a chocolate drizzled cake and chocolate biscuits. A darker part of Jack thought for a moment that Ianto was trying to pacify him with sweets. His more rational side knew this wasn't the case. Instead, Ianto was seeing to his needs. Even without Gwen's interference today, the trip to Flat Holm would have taken a lot out of him and this was Ianto's usual caretaking efforts.

Ianto had known exactly what he was doing when he'd clued Gwen in to Flat Holm; he'd understood what the consequences would be and it was beneath him to try to mitigate them. Food, coffee and some time alone had done much to quiet Jack's rage. Now he simply felt a dull anger and a sharpened edge of pain. Jack was just polishing off his last biscuit, washing it down with a final swallow of coffee, when Ianto stepped slowly through his office door.

"Perhaps you should share some information about Flat Holm with Tosh and Owen before Gwen returns to share it all," Ianto said without preamble, and Jack knew it was time for them to talk.

"And just what would you have me tell them, Ianto?" Jack inquired with just a touch of sarcasm.

"That you established a medical facility for victims returned by the Rift," Ianto replied easily, "since it's self contained they aren't needed for anything at the facility itself."

"Why don't we offer UNIT and Whitehall guided tours while we're at it?" Jack smirked without humor.

"Oh, stop it," Ianto frowned, "trusting your hand-picked team with information is a far cry from taking out an advertisement."

That silenced Jack.

"If you're in control of the information they receive, we can all move on with our jobs and our lives with a minimal disruption." Ianto concluded.

Jack sat in silence for several long moments and stared at Ianto before he finally spoke, "Why did you do it?" Asking the question hurt Jack physically.

Ianto blinked several times before he answered, "You know exactly why I did it."

"You're the last person I expected this kind of thing from," Jack couldn't keep his disappointment from his voice. He also couldn't help the sense of betrayal he kept feeling.

"I'm the last person you expected to try to help you with a dilemma?" both of Ianto's eyebrows shot up.

Jack made a frustrated gesture with his hands, "Don't you try to twist my words, Ianto." he growled. "You know what I mean."

"Just as you know what I mean," Ianto rejoined.

"Because I wouldn't do what you thought I should do you went behind my back?" Jack didn't like the rage that was building again. He wanted, he needed, Ianto to cower in contrition. He hadn't anticipated Ianto fighting back with logic.

"Because you refused to acknowledge Gwen's mulishness and chose to ignore the situation rather than control it, you put me in the awkward position of having to do it for you."

"You call this controlling the situation?" Jack asked incredulously, aware that he was brushing aside Ianto's feelings of being trapped between he and Gwen.

"Gwen got what she was demanding," Ianto explained calmly, "she opened the door without regard for what was behind it and now she gets to face the consequences."

"And I was trying to spare her that!" Jack's struggled to keep himself from being overheard by Tosh and Owen.

"Which only drove her to dig deeper, Jack," Ianto was clearly frustrated with him and Jack began to realize Ianto genuinely believed his actions helped.

"You made my worst fear come true, Ianto! Gwen is demanding we start having family day at Flat Holm!" He spoke this last with less anger, but more frustration and regret.

"She'll drop that notion as soon as she understands just how the victims are when they come back." Ianto said flatly. "It's not realistic to think everyone can be saved all the time and Gwen needs to learn that."

Before Jack could reply, Ianto's mobile rang. He removed it from his trouser pocket and glanced at the display before answering.

"Hellooo, Helen," Ianto said, his expression dark, "how did things turn out?" Ianto paused to listen, then, "That is unfortunate but you did all you could do…so it was bad?...they both reacted poorly?...this is regrettable…no, you've done all you can, the rest is up to us…right, I'll tell him…yes, he's right here…no, he's doing better since I made sure he ate…right…of course…thank you, Helen."

As Ianto concluded his call with Helen, Jack had a moment to find humor in the fact that Ianto was care-taking the man Helen feared was a danger to his health and safety. Jack realized that if he wanted to stay in Helen's good graces he was going to have to kiss and make up with Ianto.

Then again, that was something Jack wanted to do anyway, in spite of everything that had happened today.

Ianto ended the call and pocketed his mobile again. He regarded Jack at length.

Jack finally couldn't stand it any longer, "Are you going to tell me what Helen called for?"

"Gwen and Nikki were still with Jonah when his downturn began."

Jack put his head in his hands and whispered to himself, "Damn."

"I'll bring Tosh and Owen in so you can tell them," Ianto said as he headed for the door, "I imagine Gwen will come here after she gets Nikki home safely."

Jack shook himself from his reverie knowing Ianto was right. He finally had to admit to himself that Ianto had been right about everything. Damn, again. "Yeah, have them come in here." Ianto was almost out the door when Jack spoke again, "Thank you, Ianto."

Ianto's only reply was a slight inclination of his head. Bless him for not being the type to say 'I told you so'.

II

**_G_**wen was very shaken up when she returned to the Hub. She was dazed and she was contrite and she was humbled. She had learned the lesson Ianto had hoped she would. Not all things can be fixed and some doors are better left closed and locked. Jack took pity on her in the face of her repentance and sent her home. There would be time enough the following day to send her to Nikki with the offer of Retcon.

The mood in the Hub the remainder of the day was low. Owen and Tosh both fled early, the somber atmosphere making things quite unpleasant for the two of them.  
As soon as they left, Jack powered down the Hub and then walked over to where Ianto was making them each a coffee. He leaned against the table, hands in his trouser pockets, one ankle crossed over the other.

"Did I have that same haunted expression the first time I came back from hearing Jonah scream?" Jack finally asked.

Ianto handed him his coffee, which he took gratefully. "Yes. You did."

"Yeah," Jack said slowly, "so did you."

"I imagine I did." Ianto replied.

"Thanks for not saying 'I told you so'," Jack said after a long silence.

"I am not the least bit happy about being right, Jack," Ianto sighed heavily, "gloating is the last thing I feel like doing."

Jack drained his mug and set it aside. "I powered down. I just assumed you would stay with me tonight."

Ianto, too, drained his cup. "Of course, Jack."

Together they made their way to Jack's quarters. Ianto helped him strip down before shedding his own clothing. They crawled into Jack's bed together. Ianto stretched out and held his arms open for Jack. He wrapped himself around Ianto and held on tight. He was only barely aware of Ianto's hands rubbing soothing circles on his back.  
He was barely aware of the gentle kisses Ianto placed on the top of his head. He was barely aware of the words of comfort whispered against his temple.

Jack was fully aware of the pain Ianto helped him to exorcise that night, simply by being there and letting Jack hold onto him long into the night.

finito


End file.
